Snowdrops are surprisingly hardy and tough, even fighting their way through a crust of snow to come into flower. / Bill Cary/The Journal News

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Like other bulbs, snowdrops look best in large drifts. / File photo/The Journal News

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Snowdrops are the very first thing to bloom in my yard every year. Some winters, they emerge in February, a sure sign that an early spring canít be far behind. Most years, itís March before I see their tiny white flower heads.

With their slender green stems and bashful white heads that bob in the wind and nod back down toward the barren tundra of late winter, snowdrops seem achingly tender and delicate. But these harbingers of spring are surprisingly hardy and tough, even fighting their way through a crust of snow to pop up first. Bursts of warm weather like we had last weekend seem to bring them right out of the ground.

Once up, snowdrops will hold their drop-shaped blooms for a full month. The colder the weather, the longer most varieties will hold. And the bulbs naturalize and spread easily, covering whole hillsides in a woodland garden with dappled shade.

Snowdrops, known botanically as Galanthus, are low maintenance and virtually disease and pest free, even for gardeners overrun with deer, voles and woodchucks. They also have a subtle honey scent that brings fragrance to the garden when nothing else is up and blooming. Dig up a whole clump or pick just a few flowers to bring indoors for a special treat.

Unlike other spring-blooming bulbs, snowdrops prefer a partly shady spot out of direct sunlight. Try planting them under trees or shrubs or along a walkway where you can pause and enjoy them.

Snowdrops are small and subtle ó you want to be close enough to see them. (Diehard fans end up with wet, muddy knees from bending down to look up at the complex interiors of the tiny blooms.) Plant them near an entryway or where you get out of the car or around a small patio that you see from the window over the kitchen sink.

They also donít mind a slightly wet spot in the yard or garden. Iíve got lots of shady woodlands and a fairly wet property, and my snowdrops seem to enjoy the real estate.

Another great thing about snowdrops is that you can plant them right into the lawn because the blooms, which rise but a few inches off the ground, will be long gone by the time the lawn mower motors out of the garage.

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Like most bulbs ó daffodils, tulips, muscari, crocuses ó snowdrops look best when planted in large drifts that will catch and hold your eye. Luckily, they spread across an area, especially a woodland site with the rich, loamy soil they prefer. Snowdrops also produce seeds, which germinate fairly easily under the right conditions. You also can dig up and divide clumps of snowdrops every three to five years to increase your supply.

Most mail-order bulb suppliers, such as Brent and Beckyís Bulbs, John Scheepers Inc. or Dutch Gardens, sell dry bulbs for planting in early fall (September is best).

Galanthus nivalis is the most common variety, followed by the bell-shaped G. elwesii. ĎG. Sam Arnottí is another popular cultivar, and some gardeners say it offers the strongest fragrance.

Snowdrops work well with other plants to bring color to the late-winter garden. Plant them near evergreen conifers or any shrubs, such as holly or hawthorn, with red berries.

With a little patience, you can have quite a collection ó or a few great clumps near the door ó in just a few years. What a wonderful way to say hello to spring each year.